Reclaiming machine



' May 22, 1951 B. F. PATRICK RECLAIMING MACHINE Filed July 2, 1948 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Il /l May 22, 1951 B. F. PATRICK RECLAIMING MACHINE 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 2, 1948 nilliiilill r Inventor fiezz 1''. PaZrz'c K Attorney Patented May 22, 1951 I'TE 1 a 2,553,936 a R'EGLAIEMINGMACHINE Ben E. Patrick, Knoxville, Tenn.

Application July- 2-, 1948, SeriaLNo. 36,730

5 Claims. (Cl. 209-199) This invention relates. to an improved reclaim!ing' machine for extracting. precious metals; Such as placer gold. andother metals, found; in a. tree state, from pulp and more particularlycons ti. tutes. an improved centrifugal amalgamato which utilizes.mercury for separating. the precis ous. metals from the pulp.

A primary object. of the. present invention is to provide a reclaimingmachine Qf extremely simple. construction having means. for circulatingthemercur-y to and from themachine in order 110. maintain the surfaceofthe. mercury in afresh condition. and relatively free. from. the.precious. met -ls which: have been am l mat d thereby so, that the.amalgamation of the precious metals canbe readily ac mpli he and tliminats the ne e i y of: redu inethe velocity of; rotation of themachine to break. upxthe'mercnry wall for c omplishin this p rpo e A o hr ob ec of: h invention is. to. rovide a machine. or extremely simple cotruct on; ision. s. adapted o e revolv at a i rate. of pee wh r bythroug th ent i u al r e re parted thereby to. the hula-and preciometals,

pre ious metals. will. bere d ly par te out f he pulp and. am l ma d with m rcury and th b lb car i o f nd epar t dthe ma hi e h h a u roundin lnde $ti1lai r he 3 b ect of he. inv ntion is o pr v d a ma h n neludi sa bowl or .eehtain ns the erc y a d int wh ch he. pulp. is d s; ch r dan havin me ns f rea ly xpos na e 01 11 wi l of the bow t 12 211 6: 0 ret on. r epaireus ot r ob s; an a v nta s. the inv ntion wi here a becomm re h ly ppa n f m e fio ew ne d script n o th d awin lus rat n apresently preferred erebodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is, a vertical sectional; View, partlyin side elevation of thereclaiming machine;

Figure 2. is a izontal ectio al i w thereof taken substantially along aplane as indica by the line 2.Z of Figure 1 gur 3 s a ho nt se n Vi w tan substantially along a plane as indicatedby the. line 3;-3 of Figure 1F g 4 is a side e e naliew, pa tly n vertical section takensubstantially at a. right angle to Figure 1, andlooking from right to.left thereof Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view onan enlarged scale,taken substantially along a plan as indicated lay-the line 55 of Figurel, and

Figure 6 is a similar viewtaken substantially alo g a plane as mdicatedby the.;1ine 676 of? Figure. L.

Referring. more particularly to. the: drawings, the. novel reclaiming;machine. or centritugal amalgamator constituting, the. invention isdesig-. natedgenerally 1 andincludes a. frame 8: come posed of. uprightcorner. posts. 9., preferably of angle. iron, the. lower ends of: which.rest, on or may be. suitably: anchored in a supporting. S111": face In.The posts 9 are bracedat their upper end v by the braces llxandadjacent. their lower ends by superimposed: plates Lb and.t3;.which are a tached o. the. legs 9; by angle brackets. M and eachof; which is provided with a. central-open: ins 1-5, and, an upstandingflange i6 disposed COIL: centricallyaroundthe. opening. IE' and spacedoutwardly bereiroin.

A hollow shaft. ll: extends loosely. through the pen ng. It and isprovided adjacent. itslo wer end w h. collar l8; which bears on a thrustbearing l9 retained in the fiangelfi; of the bottomplate [13 forretatably supporting the shaft 11: the frame l8 The flange tB of the.upper.- plate In contains an antifrictlon bearing 20. in which saidshaft I}! is joiirnaledand whichcombines with the bea ng la tor axiallyiournaling. the. shaft in. he. ame. 8. V

A hQWl 21 is. provided with a central externally fla ed. pe in 22; in.the bot om. thereof throu h which the upper portion of. the. shaft [1;extends and to; which said shaft. is. secured for. rotation or the bowlZlwiththe'shaft. ll. and as best illus: trated in. Eigurel, said shafitextends. to a slight distance above the bottom or the bowl 21. A beveledring gear. 2:3 is: fixed to the shaft H: be! tween the bearings l9; and20. and meshes with a beveled gear; 24 ofa driven shaft 25 which. may bedriven from any suitable powersource, not shown. Likewise, it will bereadily apparent that a belt. pulley, not shown, could be substitutedfor the gear 23- for reVolv-ingthe shaft 11 by a belt drive.

The bowl 21 is provided with a substantially cylindrical side wallhaving an internal spiral rib 26 extending from near the bottom thereofto a point near the open top 2-! -oi said bowl which isslightly-restricted relatively to the internal diameterof the bowl.Adjacent its open top 2T, the bowl 2| is provided with an annularoutwardly bowed portion 28 disposed above the upper end of the spiralr-i-b Mi-and which isprovided with a plurality of outwardly and;downwardly extending discharge conduits "29', for a purpose which willhereinafter become apparent. An annular rim 30 having acentralopening'off' 3 approximately the same size as the bowl opening 21 issecured by fastenings 3| to the upper end of the bowl 2| and externallythereof and from its bore to its periphery is tapered and curvedoutwardly and downwardly, as best illustrated in Figure 1.

A brace 32 is secured to and extends between two of the legs 9 adjacenttheir upper ends for supporting a portion of a supply pipe 33 which ismounted thereon and secured thereto by a strap 34. The end of the pipe33 which extends into the frame 8 is externally enlarged and threaded asseen at 35 to receive a threaded retaining collar 36 which is mounted onthe elbow of a pipe 31. The elbow end of the pipe 31 has an out-turnedflange 38 which is adapted to bear against the outer end of theenlargement 35 and the collar 36 is provided with an inturned annularflange 39 at one end thereof which engages the opposite, inner side ofthe flange 38 for securing it against the enlargement 35 for couplingthe pipes 33 and 31. The opposite, normally depending end of the pipe 31is provided with an extension 40 which telescopes thereon and which hasan internal flange 4| at its inner end for engagement with an externalflange 42 on the lower or outer end of the pipe 31 to prevent thesection 49 from being disconnected from the pipe 31 and for normallysupporting said section 49 in its extended position of Figure l and sothat it will extend into the bowl 2| and open above and adjacent theupper end of the shaft IT. The pipe section 40 adjacent its upper end isprovided with an annular flange 43 of arcuate cross section which isdisposed substantially concentrically over the rim 30 and which combineswith the exterior surface thereof to form an annular outwardly anddownwardly extending discharge passage 44 which opens outwardly of theconduits 29 and into an annular trough or launder 45 which is supportedin the frame 8 on brackets 46 secured to the posts 9. The trough 45 isprovided with an outer annular wall which extends to above the bottomedge of the flange 43 and which is-spaced outwardly therefrom and has aninner annular wall which terminates in an inwardly flared edge disposedbelow and inwardly of theouter edge of the rim 30 and accordinglyinwardly of the discharge passage 44. Said inner wall of the trough 45is spaced from the cylindrical side wall of the bowl 2| and disposedbeneath and adjacent the bowl portion 28 and is provided with a flangewhich extends upwardly therefrom and toward the bowl 2| to combinetherewith for forming a smaller inner gutter or flume 41 into which theconduits 29 discharge. A pipe 48 has an upper end opening into thebottom of the flume or gutter 41 and extends downwardly therefromthroughopenings in the plates I2 and I3 and is provided with an upwardlyextending opposite end 49 which extends upwardly through the bore 59 ofthe shaft I1 and which is loosely disposed in said bore 5|] so that theshaft I! can freely revolve around the pipe portion 49. As best seen inFigure 5, the shaft I1 is provided with a recessed upper end 5| intowhich the upper end of the bore 5|] opens and into which extends theupper end of the pipe section 49. Said upper end of the pipe section 49terminates in a crosshead 52 having oppositely opening discharge endswhich open into the recess 5|. Said recess 5| is tapered downwardly andoutwardly and is provided with downwardly and outwardly openingdischarge ports 53'. The recess 5| is normally closed by athreaded cap 454 which engages the externally threaded upper end of the shaft |1.

The pipe 48 beneath and adjacent the gutter 41 is provided with aninspection box 55 to the top and bottom of which adjacent sections ofthe pipe 48 are threadedly connected so that box 55 constitutes a partof the conduit of the pipe 48 and forms an enlargement thereof. Theinspection box 55 is provided with a window 56 behind which andwithinthe box 55 is disposed an upstanding graduated rod 51. The pipe 48,beneath and adjacent the inspection box 55, is provided with a manuallycontrolled valve 58.

The shaft H is provided with a pair of dia metrically opposed impellervanes or blades 59 which extend outwardly therefrom and which are curvedin a direction away from the direction of rotation of the shaft I! asindicated by the arrow 60 of Figure 3 and which vanes 59 increase inwidth toward their outer ends and are provided with upwardly curvedtrailing edges.

The shaft I7 is adapted to be revolved in the frame 8 by its drivingconnection with the driven shaft 25, as previously described, forrotating the bowl 2| on its longitudinal axis at a relatively highvelocity for producing a substantial centrifugal force within said bowl.The conduit 33 is adapted to be connected to a source of pulp supplyvcontaining precious metal which may be conveyed therethrough in anysuitable manner and. discharged from the pipe section 49 into the bowl2| adjacent its bottom. The bowl 2% is initially charged with mercury,not shown, which due to the centrifugal force within said bowl 2| whenrevolved will form a lining on the cylindrical wall of the bowl and fillthe spaces between the spaced convolutions of the spiral rib 25. Thepulp which is discharged outwardly and downwardly into the bowl 2| willbe deflected outwardly and upwardly by centrifugal force and by theaction of the vanes or blades 59. This centrifugal force will cause theprecious metals to be separated from the pulp and to be amalgamated withthe mercury lining the cylindrical wall of the bowl. The lighter pulpwill be conveyed upwardly and will be .discharged through the open top21 of the bowl 2| and over the rim 38 and will be deflected outwardlyand downwardly by the annular deflector flange 43 so as to be dischargedfrom the annular discharge passage 44 into the trough or launder 45which may be provided with a suitable outlet, not shown, for carryingoff the pulp after the precious metals have been thus separatedtherefrom. Ordinarily,

L the surface of the mercury lining the inner wall of the bowl 2| wouldrapidly become impregnated with the precious metal particles which wouldresist further amalgamation. In order to overcome this and without thenecessity of slowing down the rotation of the bowl to break up themercury wall, the mercury is supplied in suflicient quantities so thatthe upward impetus produced thereon by the vanes 59 together with thecentrifugal force will cause the amalgam of precious metals and mercuryto be carried upwardly of the bowl 2| into the enlarged portion 28 fromwhich such amalgam will be'discharged through the conduit 29 into theflume or gutter 41 from whence the amalgam will flow through the con-.duits 48, 49 into the recess 5| of the shaft I! to be dischargedtherefrom through the ports 53 centrifugally back into the lower portionof the bowl 2| thereby constantly re-distributing the mercury so thatthe surface of precious metals cannot be formed thereon. The window 56of the inspection box 55 affords a means whereby the operator canvisually determine and check the flow of the mercury for varying andregulating this iiow by the control valve 58. By momentarily shuttingoff the valve 58 the rate of mercury flow can be determined by referenceto the graduated rod 51 for determining the rate at which the mercurywill fill the inspection box.

Ready access is provided to the open top of the bowl 2| for the purposeof inspection or repair by the simple expedient of retracting the pipesection 4d upwardly on the pipe section 3'1, as illustrated in Figure 4after which said telescoped pipe can be swung upwardly and to one side,as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 4, so that the top of the bowl2| will be exposed.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously beresorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventionas hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A centrifugal reclaiming machine for precious metals comprising aframe, a hollow shaft journaled therein, a bowl fixed to said shaft andsupported thereby in the frame in an upright position and for rotationwith the shaft on its vertical axis, said shaft extending through thebowl bottom, drive means connected to said shaft beneath the bowl, saidbowl having a cylindrical side wall adapted to be lined with mercury bythe centrifugal force of the rotation of the bowl, a feed conduit forpulp supported by said frame and having a discharge end opening into thebowl adjacent thebettom thereof, said pipe extending through the opentop or" said bowl, a rim secured to the open top of the bowl and havingan outwardly and downwardly extending annular flange over which the pulpis adapted to be discharged after separation of the precious metalstherefrom by amalgamation in the mercury, a trough or launder supportedby the frame around the bowl and beneath and adjacent the annular flangefor receiving the pulp, and means for circulating the mercury byextraction of the mercury from adjacent the top of the bowl and byrecharging the bowl by a gravity feed with the mercury adjacent thebottom thereof and through the hollow shaft.

2. A reclaiming machine as in claim 1., said last mentioned meanscomprising an annular gutter or flume supported by said trough andinwardly thereof, said bowl having an upper annular internally enlargedportion forming an integral part thereof into which the mercury isconveyed and provided with discharge ports opening into said gutter, aconduit extending downwardly from said gutter having an upturned portionextending upwardly through said hollow shaft through which the mercuryis returned to the bottom of the bowl by gravity from the gutter, saidhollow shaft having a recessed upper end provided with outwardly anddownwardly opening discharge ports opening into the lower portion of thebowl and into which the upturned end of said pipe discharges forrecharging the bowl with the mercury.

3. A reclaiming machine as in claim 1, said feed pipe having an annulardeflector flange normally disposed over and adjacent the bowl rim fordeflecting the pulp into the trough, said feed pipe having a telescopicsection supporting said deflector flange above and out of engagementwith the bowl, said telescopic section being retractable out of saidbowl, and said feed pipe including a joint on which the telescopicportion thereof is swingable for displacing the feed pipe away from thebowl for exposing the open top of the bowl.

4. A reclaiming machine as in claim 1, said means comprising an annulargutter or flume supported by said trough and inwardly thereof, said bowlhaving an upper annular internally enlarged portion into which themercury is conveyed and provided with discharge ports opening into saidgutter, a conduit extending downwardly from said gutter having anupturned portion extending upwardly through said hollow shaft, saidhollow shaft having a recessed upper end provided with outwardly anddownwardly opening discharge ports opening into the lower portion of thebowl and into which the upturned end of said pipe discharges forrecharging the bowl with the mercury, the flange of said rim extendingoutwardly beyond said gutter for deflecting the pulp into the trough andaway from the gutter.

5. A reclaiming machine as in claim 1, said hollow shaft having an upperportion disposed within the lower part of said bowl, and impeller bladessecured to said upper portion and adjacent the bowl bottom and providedwith upwardly curved trailing ends for deflecting the pulp upwardlyrelatively to the bowl bottom.

BEN F. PATRICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 355,958 White Jan. 11, 1887604,978 Garland et a1 May 31, 1898 739,081 Hicks Sept. 15, 19031,003,118 McKellar Sept. 12, 1911 1,204,231 Alderson Nov. 7, 19161,220,051 Zimmer Mar. 20, 1917 1,232,104 Sharples July 3, 1917 1,361,723I-Ianssen Dec. 7, 1920 1,456,737 Lapham May 29, 1923 1,951,108 ReillyMar. 3, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 418,518 Great BritainOct. 26. 1934

